Parkersburg Urban Renewal Authority Chairman Mike Reynolds, second from left, looks at a slide projected on a screen in City Council chambers during a URA meeting Tuesday. Also pictured are, from left, Councilmen J.R. Carpenter, Chris Rexroad and Austin Richards. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

PARKERSBURG — Members of Parkersburg City Council are thinking about where a new fire station should be built.

Over the last four years, the city has replaced two of its three fire stations built during the Great Depression. Both new facilities were built on the expanded sites of their predecessors, with Station 2 at 16th and Covert streets opening in 2019 and Station 4 at Emerson and West Virginia avenues following in 2020.

The odd building out is Station 3 at 13th and Liberty streets. Built in 1932, it’s had more maintenance and repairs over the last decade than the others, Mayor Tom Joyce said earlier this year.

But if that station is replaced, it likely wouldn’t be in the same location.

“I think we could improve our response time by repositioning that fire station,” Joyce said.

Members of Parkersburg City Council, acting as the Urban Renewal Authority, voted this week to table an application to purchase this lot at 2024 17th St. Some council members feel the site would be a good location for a new fire station. (Photo Provided)

Fire Chief Jason Matthews said moving the station a few blocks east would cover some areas that fall outside the recommended mile and a half surrounding the station. That, in turn, could improve the city’s score with Insurance Services Office Inc., which assesses fire mitigation efforts in communities on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best and 10 not meeting minimum qualifications.

While each insurer may apply the data provided by ISO differently, lower premiums are generally offered in communities with better protection. Parkersburg moved up to a class 3 in 2017 after being a 4 since 2000.

“My goal has always been to go to a level 2,” Matthews said, noting some of the factors considered in an ISO rating are outside the department’s control.

On Tuesday, council, sitting as the Urban Renewal Authority, voted 7-2 to table an offer to purchase 2024 17th St. for $23,500. Local residents Leo and Sandra Chaddock applied to purchase the vacant lot to build a new single-family home, with $276,500 committed to the development.

URA Chairman Mike Reynolds praised the Chaddocks for their work redeveloping other properties but said he could not vote to approve the application because “I feel like it would be a great location for a new fire station.”

Councilwoman Sharon Kuhl said she’d spoken to the Chaddocks and they didn’t mind the authority tabling the application so officials could study potential fire station locations.

Council President Zach Stanley and Councilman J.R. Carpenter said they weren’t sure the residential site was the best fit for a fire station, although the lot would consist of more than 10,000 square feet once two parcels are combined. Carpenter was joined by Councilwoman Wendy Tuck in voting against the motion to table, while Stanley voted for it.

Matthews said there are a number of factors to consider as they look at where a new fire station might go.

“We have to look at all aspects of it,” he said.

The 17th Street lot is one possibility, and Matthews noted the city already owns it and would not have to spend additional funds to acquire the land.

The previous fire stations cost $1.5 million, financed with a 20-year federal loan, and $1.71 million, with a bond issued by the municipal building commission. Joyce noted no funding source has been identified for a potential new Station 3.

“We can only do what we can do with the money we have available,” he said.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.